Week: End Game: On 08.06.2011

It’s been a long week, hasn’t it? And do you know what the Nintendojo staff like winding down with after a long week of writing about games? Some games. Read on to find out what are staff will be up to this weekend in the world of gaming.

Katharine Byrne

I made a big discovery this week. Well, not that much of a discovery, but when I made my annual summer trip to my local library a few days ago I was definitely surprised to find that it now offers week-long game rentals for the bargain price of £2.50 ($4). What was even more astonishing though was its surprisingly good range of Wii titles. So what better way to take advantage of this delightful public service than to catch up on some of the games that had slipped under my radar in recent years?

Having just finished Dead Space: Extraction, next up on the agenda is Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. Ever since Robbie the Rabbit freaked me out in Silent Hill 4: The Room (look it up), I’ve always been a bit cautious with survival horror games– it’s probably the one genre which I’ve actively avoided over the years (that and sports games). It also doesn’t really help that I’m notoriously bad at conserving weapons and ammo when it comes to surviving the said horror, but it’s probably high time I conquered my fears and overcame my apparent compulsion to empty a whole clip of bullets into anything that moves. I just need to make sure I play in broad daylight… with lots of people around… possibly from behind the sofa…

Kevin Knezevic

I’ve had a bit more time this week to indulge in my favorite hobby, but you’ll still find my gaming plate particularly sparse in relation to some of my colleagues. Aside from a few very fun races against the other staffers in Mario Kart Wii (I apologize for how loud and obnoxious I can become in the heat of the moment) and some morning aerobics in Animal Crossing for GameCube (I am almost ashamed to admit I have never actually attended all fourteen required sessions, so I hope to finally accomplish this over the summer), I spent most of my leisurely time replaying Star Fox Adventures. I started a new file to gain some inspiration for my latest article, and I’m very pleased at how well the title holds up. I find myself stopping very often just to admire the scenery of Sauria (and bask in the aural bliss of the game’s soundtrack), and aside from some frustrating moments (*glares angrily at the Test of Fear*), I am really enjoying the title. I will continue playing Adventure until I complete it, after which I will eagerly delve into my awaiting copy of Shenmue.

James Stank

I’ve been playing Phantasy Star II and Catherine. PSII is a great classic RPG, and I’m about to start the third dungeon. Catherine is also as great as I wanted it to be. It is really tough, and the game has tons of personality. My only complaint is that your choices (so far) haven’t seemed to impact the game, and sometimes you aren’t given a choice that you’d want. I can be really mean or nice to Katherine, but the same isn’t true for Catherine. When she texts you, you can’t reply, “I want to see you” or “are you free?” But you can say “What do you want?” and “Stop bothering me.” It’s pretty hard to try to get closer to Catherine when the game won’t even let you.

Joshua Johnston

Two words: Mother 3.

Smith Stuart

I know this is a gaming website, but I don’t plan on playing any games over the weekend. Today is a friend’s birthday, tonight I’m leading music at my church, and tomorrow I’ll be playing Ultimate Frisbee (a real life game, oh my!) for a good 4+ hours beneath the blistering sun. In between those events I will probably be eating square meals and drafting my next Nintendojo article. The latter will take heavy research, so I will (at least in my mind) be fervently dabbling in and out of the wonderful world of Nintendo.

Though if I had Mother 3 like Joshua, I might’ve been able to squeeze in a chapter or two. Priorities, priorities…

Now it’s your turn, what’s going to be spinning in your consoles this weekend? Let us know in the comments.

I’m currently playing deBlob 2 for the Wii. Looking at the map, I’d say I’m at about 50% through it. Love the game, still have issues with the save system.

On the DS side I’m playing through Radiant Historia. This one will take awhile. I think I’m 20 hours into it.

And 3DS, Zelda: TOoT. I’m having so much trouble getting into this game. I played it and beat it back in ’98 when it released on the N64 and have never played through again. Just knowing I’ve already done this, even if I’ve forgotten most of it, is just a huge turnoff to me. I’m only 6 or 7 hours in.

I’m pretty sure I won’t be buying Star Fox 3DS because of this. I’ve already played it and would much rather having something new.